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IMF mission to visit Zambia over severe drought

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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Thursday it would visit Zambia in the middle of April to evaluate the economic effects of a severe drought.

Zambia is preparing to implement electricity rationing starting next week due to a severe drought that has been classified as a national emergency and is affecting both food production and hydropower generation.

According to a scheduled press conference, IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack stated that the organization’s preliminary assessment indicates that crop losses appear to be significant and that the need to import energy will negatively affect the current account balance.

However, she added that over the medium term, the drought would not have a significant economic impact.

Zambia is currently struggling with its foreign debt. Following the COVID-19 epidemic three years ago, the southern African country experienced a recession as a result of its foreign debt default. The nation has since requested reorganization from its bilateral creditors in order to stabilize its economy.

Although it has made some progress with its monetary policies, with its Kwacha becoming the strongest currency in the continent, the recent energy shortage might prove to be another hurdle to its recovering economy.

Musings From Abroad

Nigeria, India to strengthen counterterrorism, maritime security cooperation

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During a state visit to Nigeria on Sunday, Indian Prime Minister, Narendra, Modi reached an agreement, on behalf of his country, to strengthen cooperation in counterterrorism, intelligence, and maritime security.

President Bola Tinubu invited Modi to visit Nigeria, the first Indian prime minister to do so in 17 years.

Tinubu is looking for investments from some of the largest economies in the world.

In addition to discussing economic development, defence, healthcare, and food security, Modi and Tinubu met at the presidential mansion on Sunday after arriving in the capital, Abuja, on Saturday night, according to a joint statement.

The two nations decided to work together to protect maritime trade routes and fight piracy in response to the mounting risks in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Guinea.

The most populous country in Africa, Nigeria, is looking to attract more Indian investment and lower-cost credit lines in order to strengthen its economy and generate employment.

Nigeria announced last year that it had obtained about $14 billion in pledges from Indian businesses, including Jindal Steel and Power, which promised to spend $3 billion in Nigeria’s steel industry, during the G20 conference.

Over 200 Indian businesses are present in Nigeria.

Modi was scheduled to go to Brazil for this year’s G20 conference after Nigeria.

Nigeria and India have a long-standing and cordial bilateral relationship. Nigeria, home to more than 200 million people, and India, home to 1.3 billion people, are both sizable emerging nations with multilingual, multiethnic, and multireligious communities.

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Musings From Abroad

Military advisors from Russia arrive Equatorial Guinea

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Russian military advisors are in Equatorial Guinea training indigenous soldiers.

Anonymous sources cited by Reuters during the week claim that between 100 and 200 Russian instructors are training with elite guards in charge of guarding the President and the first family.

The males had been seen in Malabo, the country’s capital, and Bata, its second city. Reports of Russian forces stationed in the nation initially appeared in August.

Oil-rich Equatorial Guinea’s President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has maintained close relations with Moscow.

Nguema travelled to Moscow in September to attend the Russian Energy Week International Forum.

Russia has strengthened military connections with African countries, sending advisors and combat soldiers to the Central African Republic, Mozambique, Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso.

Faced with an Islamist terrorist insurrection, three Sahel countries have turned to Moscow for support, expelling French and American troops.

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